Despite being 8-3, are the Buffalo Bills in trouble?
Mike D
Did the headline grab you? Are you one of the fans that’s hitting the panic button, even though they won the game because of your “eye test”? Or are you a fan that is sick of seeing people complain about a team that is 8-3, and in the driver seat to win the division for the first time since 1995? Regardless of the type of fan that you are, this article will have points that you agree with and disagree with. I’m just asking to read to find out where I stand. So let's get into it!
Everybody Eats B!
Starting with what is important: MONEY. I was one of the few people (and I believe the only one on OBP ) who didn’t predict a basketball game. I predicted the Bills would win 26-19, covering the (-5) spread and under 53. The game ended 27-17, so if you took my my advice you hit on both! You’re welcome.
Offense
Josh Allen- Our season will live and die on the arm of #17, which we knew coming into the season. In the playoffs, when you play a Deshawn Watson, Patrick Mahomes or Big Ben, you need Josh to cook. Well, luckily it was a week 12 game vs the inept Los Angeles Chargers, because Josh was 18-24 for 157 yards, 1passing and 1 rushing TD,1int and 1fum loss. Not to mention, whatever he was trying to do on the play that almost got injured, ultimately ending any hopes and dreams we have of a deep playoff run. So do we need Josh to play better? Of course we do, but at this point, with the playoffs all but locked in, we need him to play safer as well. Matt Barkley can play garbage time, week 17, the 4th preseason game, and thats it.
Backfield- I predicted the Chargers would be better, and technically I was right. But that was due to Austin Eckler coming back and having an Eckler day (14 for 44 rushing, 11 for 85 receiving), and not to our RB’s being awful. Singletary and Moss actually had efficient days on the ground, averaging 7.5 and 6.6 yards per carry respectively. As always, our best ball carrier scored the only rushing TD for us Sunday.
Receivers- With John Brown now being placed on IR, I knew it would be a rough day for Josh Allen and this Bills offense. To understand the impact Brown has on this offense, just look at the 4 game stretch we had vs Tennessee, Kansas City, New York Jets and New England. He was either absent and no existence in those games, and we remember how those went. Two of these games (KC and NE) had lower passing totals than Sunday’s game. So with him being out, I predicted Diggs and Beasley to have better games than Allen and Williams, but Hunter Henry would be better than our 3rd option. Thankfully I was wrong, because Diggs and Beasley didn’t do much, while Gabe Davis stole the show with 3 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD and ‘Mossed’ a defender so bad it made me say “We should’ve had him in on that D Hop catch”. Him being a legit #4 option has helped our season immensely, and with Brown being out for at least 2 more week, he will have time and opportunity to show case his potential. Oh, and Dawson Knox finally did something.
Offensive Line- I’m not a big O-Line guy, and I say that with the upmost respect. After QB & Coaching, offensive line may be the most important group to get right on a football team. While I understand its significance, it’s a topic that I and many people find boring to talk about. So if I am talking about them, it is because they had an awesome day, or a day where people can lose their jobs. Unfortunately, it’s the latter here. The one man wrecking machine aka Joey Bosa alone had 3 sacks, 5 QB hits and a fumble recovery. Hopefully this was an outlier performance, and not a sign of what is still to come. Cody Ford is out the remainder of the season, so keep an eye on this unit with Pittsburgh coming to town in a few weeks.
Now lets switch sides and talk some defense.
Defense
Sacks- Like predicted, Frazier sent pressure early and often at the young rookie QB. I made it a point to watch the line of scrimmage to see how many people were blitzing and where they were coming from. I couldn’t predict it, but obviously I’m not an NFL QB. But if you watched Herbert, he didn’t know either. Hence the 17 points for the chargers. Before I move on, shoutout to AJ Klein. Filling in for Matt Milano isn’t an easy job, but it gets a lot harder when you are playing like the worst linebacker in the NFL. Since the Seattle game, Klein has been a staple in this defense. Yesterday he had 14 tackles (10 solo), 1.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 PD (pass defensed) and 2 QB hits. If he continues to play like this when Milano gets back…well I’ll let your imagination wander.
Turnovers- It was ugly for Buffalo in this department. 3 turnovers in 8 plays normally gets you beat in a game. But fortunately for the Bills, Tre White provided them with a timely interception himself that led to a field goal that essentially put the game out of reach. With the pressure we were putting on Herbert, and him having 2 fumbles (Chargers recovered both), I’m surprised we didn’t take the ball away more. But hey, I count punts as turnovers too.
Points- Bend but don’t break. That has been our philosophy for most of the year. Even though they 316 passing yards and 76 on the ground, all of that only yielded 17 points. While the Chargers defense normally allows 27.2ppg, the Bills scored 27 on the money.
Coaching
What was that?- I talked about Anthony Lynn absolutely deserving to be a coach in this league, and wellllllll, maybe that was incorrect. I mean c’mon, I’ve seen better coaching at Little League Flag Football games. I am not a fan of Rich Gannon when he is in the booth, but boy was he spot on Sunday. He literally questioned every decision the Chargers made, and I was right with him. In terms of the Bills, they were solid. Frazier and them boys are playing the hell out of some defense, and TRICK or treat Daboll called a perfectly time trick play for the hundredth time. And as expected, McDermott had them prepared and ready to play!
Overall
Now to answer the question, “Despite being 8-3, are the Buffalo Bills in trouble?”. Every week Rad comes onto the show and say “Hey man I can’t complain, the Bills are 8-3”. So I know where he stands, but where do I stand? Well, to answer this questions, you need to know what kind of fan are you. Are you a “defense wins championship” fan? If so, then you should be thrilled. The Bills defense has really turned it around of late, and appear to be getting in pre-2020 form. If you are a “score 50 points every game” fan, well you may think that we are in trouble. And that’s exactly where I am. No I don’t think the division or even the playoffs are in jeopardy, but I’m currently looking past those. I’m looking at this team with dreams of making a deep playoff run, and right now I’m nervous. Currently, this offense is too dependent on the presence of John Brown. I know he is a good WR and a dip in the offense should be expected, but DAMN! So unless you can guarantee his health and safety throughout the playoffs, you can call me pessimistic Mike. I just don’t believe it it.
Everyone please watch the video below, The Guys give their game recap. Holla at you later. ✌🏽
After another tough win, Matt, Rad and Preach give you their thoughts in this weeks recap.